Daily Writing Sample: When a Judge Interrupts

In this ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit wrestled with the question of whether a judge’s interruption during a bank robber’s meandering statement at his sentencing hearing amounted to an abridgment of his right to allocation.

The majority, Judges William Bauer and Daniel Manion, said the trial court was right to interject after Billy
Covington had rambled on for six pages worth of transcript about his troubled childhood, his drug use, his relationships with various family members and his military service. . .